The ORIC Kelowna Innovation Centre announced at an “Innovation Plaza” business networking event held for members of the ORIC community that it has partnered with Pushor Mitchell LLP, which has been appointed a “Knowledge Partner” of ORIC in the legal field.
ORIC’s Knowledge Partners commit to supporting start-up and early stage technology companies in the organization’s downtown business incubator by providing them with mentorship, support and advice in their own particular field of expertise. This helps nurture the development and sustainability of innovative local information and communication technology companies – the creation of which, ORIC argues, is vital to the growth of a strong and competitive regional knowledge economy.
ORIC’s business incubation program in the Okanagan Valley is designed to catalyze the process of starting and growing technology companies by providing entrepreneurs with the expertise, networks and tools they need to make their ventures successful.
Drawing on their extensive experience providing legal services typically required by start-ups , Pushor Mitchell has committed to providing ORIC’s start-up clients with a series of regular value-adding seminars and round table education sessions on legal issues and problems commonly encountered by early stage ventures, including intellectual property (IP), financing and other relevant legal topics.
Pushor Mitchell is the largest full service law firm in the interior of BC. Their team of thirty-one lawyers provides a full range of legal services, including in a number of specialty areas such as securities, corporate finance, intellectual property, technology, employment and tax law.
Praising the partnership, ORIC Kelowna Director, Martin Yuill, said that Pushor Mitchell had been a strong supporter of ORIC’s incubator concept since it opened its doors in November 2008. He said that the law firm supported ORIC’s goal of forming a vibrant technology cluster in the Okanagan.
“Business incubation is all about offering targeted support to start-ups and early-stage companies in order to accelerate their development and future growth and success,” Yuill said. “We are pleased that Pushor Mitchell has joined us in this exciting partnership to deliver value to a growing technology community, and shares ORIC’s vision of creating long-term economic benefits for the region through support for innovators and entrepreneurs.”
Pushor Mitchell Partner, Blair Forrest, head of the Firm’s Technology and Securities Law practice group, confirmed that his firm is committed to supporting ORIC’s mission of ‘empowering entrepreneurs in the Okanagan’ by helping transform ideas into business success.
“The expertise we bring to this partnership is all about helping innovative companies succeed in order to generate new high-tech jobs and sustainable economic value across the Okanagan,” Forrest said.
“In addition to the support that ORIC offers its client companies in terms of shared infrastructure; flexible space; a sharing and learning environment; cross-company collaboration; business networks; and facilitated interactions with industry and higher education; we believe that the availability of timely, cost-effective and value-adding business support services, such as legal and intellectual property advice, is critical to the formation and growth of early-stage innovative companies,” Forrest added.
“It is often access to these business services that is key to the success of early-stage technology companies,” Forrest said.
For further information, see: http://www.oric.ca/PushorMitchell_Knowledge_Partner-Press_Release_November_2009.pdf
You can contact Blair Forrest at [email protected] or 250-869-1160.